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I’ll lead PDP back to power in Abia – Ikpeazu *Dumping party not an option
Okezie Ikpeazu, immediate past Governor of Abia State has vowed to devote his time from now on to leading the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to retake power from the Labour Party (LP), which snatched it by the skin of the teeth, after 24 years, short of the years of the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA), between 2007 to 2010.
Against the backdrop of a swathe of defections, which hit the party in recent days, including those of Anthony Agbazuere, his Chief of Staff (CoS) Eze Chikamnayo, a former Commissioner of Information, Uzo Azubuike, former Member of the House of Representatives and others to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party at the centre, Ikpeazu, swore to maintain his staunch membership of the Nigerian main opposition party.
The former governor, who was a prominent member of the G-5 – a group of PDP governors, who stoutly resisted the emergence of PDP presidential candidate and National Chairman of the party coming from the North in the run to the 2023 presidential election, told a well-attended PDP caucus meeting held at the new party secretariat, Onyerubi Crescent, Ogurube Layout, Umuahia on Thursday, that he would rather stay back in the fold to rebuild the party.
Ikpeazu, who was a two-term governor of the state for eight, from 2015 to 2023, while explaining that the exit of the party faithful, including his former aides, were their personal choice, which they were free to make, called on the remaining members, to ensure unity of purpose and work for the party to quickly return to winning ways.
His words: “We must all take individual responsibility for our performance in the 2023 elections even as our party is going through self-cleansing at the moment. I will remain in PDP and will never be found wanting in my responsibilities to our party and its rebuilding process.
“Those who want to leave will leave no matter what you do but loyalty is also about the realisation that at some point this party has been good to you. It is now time for sacrifice, especially from those who previously benefitted from our party in one way or another as we must all join hands to reposition it.”
Asiforo Okere, PDP Chairman in the state, who earlier thanked members who have remained steadfast in supporting the party, especially after the 2023 elections, reminded them that the party still maintained a majority at the state House of Assembly even when the election was conducted on the same day with governorship election that the party lost.
Informing that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had extended the tenures of elected ward executives by three months in an acting capacity, he also announce the constitution of three committees to handle Peace and Reconciliation, Way Forward and Finance (PRWFF) in the party.
Austin Akobundu, Senator representing Abia Central, who echoed the same sentiments, argued that while people were free to leave and join any political party of their choice, the PDP remained a movement that nobody could kill in the state, while Onyema Ugochukwu, pioneer Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) and an elder statesman from the state called for unity among members.
Ugochukwu, a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT), while stressing that the time for blame-game was over as there were no factions in the party, maintained that the leaders and members having learned from the 2023 experience, must be ready to bounce back, adding that time had come to reposition the party and ensure that young members found comfort and space to contribute to its leadership in the state.
The caucus meeting was attended by other top members including the immediate past Deputy Governor of Abia State, Ude Oko Chukwu, Mao Ohuabunwa, Senator formerly representing Abia North, governorship candidate at the 2023 elections, Okey Ahiwe, as well as former and serving PDP members of Abia State House of Assembly led by Solomon Akpulonu, members of the National and State Working Committees and other invited stakeholders.
Hours after Mohammed Hayatu-Deen did, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday, also flatly rejected the outcome of the presidential primaries, of the African Democratic Congress, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, described the announced results as “concocted,” insisting that the process failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness earlier promised by the party.
He said in a statement: “I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi stated.
He said he had previously maintained that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent, stressing that the exercise did not reflect the democratic values the ADC claimed to represent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that a significant number of party members were denied the opportunity to vote during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Rivers State governor questioned the moral basis of the ADC criticising the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged electoral malpractice while allegedly engaging in similar conduct internally.
“A party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!” he declared.
Amaechi said the ADC was envisioned as a platform to amplify the voices of ordinary Nigerians and provide credible political alternatives irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social background.
His rejection of the outcome is expected to deepen tensions within the opposition party following the conclusion of its presidential primary election.
“These timeless virtues of devotion, selflessness, and submission to divine will are values our nation desperately needs today,” were the exact words with which Godswill Akpabio, attempted to rouse Nigerians to the ethos of unquestionable faith and service to the country.
Akpabio, Chairman of the National Assembly, who drew example from Prophet Ibrahim, admonished Nigerians to emulate his unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
The Senate President, who conveyed his sentiments via a statement by Eseme Eyiboh, also used the specifically hail President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Kashim Shettima and Muslim faithful in Nigeria and around the world as they celebrate Eid El Kabir.
Stressing that the occasion called for prayer and sober reflection on the theme of sacrifice, he added: “This sacred occasion reminds us of Prophet Ibrahim’s unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
“To our dear President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Senator Kashim Shettima and Muslim brothers and sisters, I felicitate with them on behalf of my family, constituents and the Senate on this blessed Eid. May the lessons of sacrifice, compassion, and generosity that define this season strengthen your faith and bring peace to your homes.
“As you share with the less privileged and extend love to neighbours of all faiths, you embody the true spirit of Nigeria. To all Nigerians, I urge us to use this solemn period to pray fervently for peace, security, and prosperity in our land. Let us pray for our troops in the frontlines, for farmers to return safely to their fields, and for unity to prevail over division in our Nation.
“Eid El Kabir also calls us to deep reflection on the future of our country. Just as Prophet Ibrahim was tested, Nigeria is in a season of testing. The sacrifices we make today in patience, in tolerance and in choosing hope over despair will determine the Nigeria our children inherit.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration, supported by the National Assembly, is anchored on that same principle: that meaningful progress often requires collective sacrifice.
“May Almighty Allah accept your prayers and sacrifices. May He heal our land, guide our leaders, and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Barka da Sallah. Eid Mubarak.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
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